Letters
by Ghostwriter
Summary: A school assignment leads to a life-long friendship. Upped the rating to a "T" for language.
1. Casey's Introduction

LETTERS

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Yes, I know I shouldn't be starting another fic when I have three on-going already, but I really wanted to do this crossover and it was the only way I could realistically made it happen. Life with Derek belongs to Canadian Television and whoever else is affiliated with it. Flashpoint and its characters belong to Mark Ellis, Ava Mar, Media Bell, and Pink Sky. Flashpoint started right when Life With Derek was ending which meant that while Sam was mid-twenties/early thirties, Casey was like seventeen or eighteen and I tried to make things realistic, so I decided to "rewind" so to speak so Casey's going to be thirteen while Sam's eighteen, which I believe is the correct age of eligibility in Canada. I live in the US so I googled it and I apologize if I'm wrong and I encourage you to please tell me. Italics will be Casey's letters and bold with be Sam's letters. Each chapter will alternate between Sam and Casey depending on length. This is gonna be another one of my larger projects as my goal is to through Sam's S.R.U. days.

Casey sat in her seat, drumming her fingers on her desk, waiting for the teacher to come in. She wanted to know what this new assignment was that Mrs. Channing was so excited about. According to her, it was going to be a "cultural experience" for them. She wasn't sure what the woman meant by that, but she was sure that it'd be interesting. Finally, the door opened and the woman-who was five-eight with brown hair and wearing an adult version of the school's uniform-walked in with a large box of stationary and a large stack of photos.

"Class, we're going to have an on-going assignment. And yes, I said "We" because I'm going to be doing it too," she told them.

"Who are we writing letters to?" Casey's cousin Victoria wondered.

"We're going to be writing to the men and women serving in the military and I'll be assigning a pen pal to each of you and there is no switching with each other," she answered, handing each of them stationary and a photo. Victoria looked at her file and made a noise of interest. _I guess she likes the guy she was assigned_, she thought to herself and then turned her attention to her own file and stared at the photo. It was a Caucasian male who appeared to be about eighteen with chestnut blonde hair and the name read Sam Braddock. _He looks so young. I wonder why he's in the Army_, she thought to herself. Well, she supposed that could be her first question. With that, she took out a pen and began writing.

_ Dear Sam, my name is Casey MacDonald and my class is doing a pen-pal assignment and you were the one who was assigned to me. I have a younger sister named Lizzie and my parents are Dennis and Nora MacDonald. If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to enlist? What was the appeal? Isn't it kind of scary? I can't imagine doing something like that. But I'm glad you are. Thank you for choosing to do something like this. If no one else says it, you'll hear it from me: thank you. Well, I guess I'll write more to you later. Again, thanks for what you were doing._

Casey put the pen down and smiled. She wasn't really sure why, but she had a good feeling about this assignment. Of course if she ever said that out loud, the other girls would just ridicule her. Well…maybe not seeing as how everyone here was an overachiever just like her. You **had** to be to get ahead here, so maybe they were all feeling the same way that she was. And who knew? Maybe she'd learn something more about the guy. And to tell the truth, she was rather excited about it. She hoped that this Sam Braddock guy was a good guy and that he was receptive to the letters. After all, not everyone liked to get letters from kids or even like reading them. For all she knew, this guy probably didn't want to be bothered by her letter. Or maybe he'd laugh at her. She'd just have to wait and see.


	2. Sam's Introduction

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life with Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Flashpoint belongs to Mark Ellis, Ava Mar, Media Bell, and Pink Sky. This is Sam's introduction letter.

Sam settled on his bed and reread the letter that the thirteen-year old girl, Casey MacDonald, had sent him. It was pretty short, but that made sense seeing as how she was just introducing herself to him. _Hmm…I wonder if I should write her back_, he thought to himself. Well, it was for an assignment and he'd hate for her to fail. Plus, he needed someone to write to besides his parents and Natalie. With that, he pulled out a sheet of paper and began writing.

**Dear Casey, first of all, thanks for the letter. It was good to hear from you. So your school's doing a pen-pal program? That's kind of neat. I wish one of my schools had done that. Yes, I said schools. I'm an Army brat and I have a younger sister Natalie, and my parents are Elizabeth and Robert Braddock, but at home we call him "Sir". He insists on it. He's an Army man all the way. In answer to your question, I decided to enlist because I want follow in his footsteps. Plus, I want to make a difference. I figured what better place to do that than the Army? I hope to hear from you again soon and that you're doing well.**

After he finished writing, the young officer put the letter aside, making a mental note to get stamps for the letter. Hearing footsteps, he tensed up and stood up, grabbing his weapon.

"Easy, Sammy," a voice chided and the boy shook his head as his friend walked into the space.

"Sorry, Matt," he apologized.

"It's all good, man," Matthew "Matt" Chambers assured. Hey, he understood his friend's actions as one never knew if they could be attacked. It was better to be on the alert. He then walked over to his friend's space and glanced at the letter he had written.

"Who's Casey?" he wondered.

"A girl from a school called Fletcher's Academy. Apparently they're doing a pen-pal thing and she was assigned to write to me," came the response.

"And you're gonna write back?" Matt asked.

"It's a school assignment. I'm supposed to let her fail?" Sam pointed out.

"Got me there," Matt stated.

"Besides, she seems like a sweet kid," Sam said.

"Well okay then," Matt said.

"Braddock! Chambers! Grab your guns and move your asses!" they heard someone shout and they grabbed their weapons and headed out.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Because these were the introductory chapters, I showed Casey and Sam writing the letters, but in future chapters it'll be them reading the letters they get.


	3. Matt Wants To Nickname You

AUHTOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television. Flashpoint belongs to Media Bell, Pink Sky, Ava Mar, and Mark Ellis. I only own the plot.

Casey sat at her desk nervously, waiting to see if she had gotten anything new from Sam. The pen-pal program had been going on for a few weeks now and she had learned that he had been an Army brat, he and sister Natalie had been raised in the desert, that he had had a younger sister Vickie who had been killed by a car jumping a curb, and that he had joined the Army to make a difference as well as to impress his dad. She in turn had told him about her family, her interest in dancing and singing, that Fletcher's Academy was an all-girls private school, and how she loved and thrived on the competition. Okay, so it was probably a little boring to him, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he had even encouraged her to tell him more if she wanted to. _I'm so glad he's receptive to this_, she thought to herself. She had been pretty nervous about it, but Sam was pretty nice and she was hoping that she had gotten a new letter, though that wasn't to say that she didn't understand not getting mail due to events that would be beyond his control. The door opened and everyone turned to watch as Mrs. Channing walked in, a small pile of letters in her hands and she handed them out. When she got hers, Casey smiled and opened the letter.

** Hey Casey, hey are things going? Things are good here, if a little boring. But I guess that's a good thing, you know? I'm really glad that I have someone else to write to. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't mind hearing from Mom and Natalie, but I've been getting a lot of letters/advice from my dad. I love the guy, but sometimes it's just a lot of pressure-a lot to live up to. I don't wanna let him down, you know? And of course there's guys who think I only got in because of him, which is bogus! I mean, seriously? I worked my ass off! I mean…butt…sorry. Slipped out. Oh by the way, how's school going? I know you had a test this week and that you were pretty nervous about it…or have you not taken it yet? Well, if you ****have**** taken it, I bet you did awesome, and if you haven't good luck, you'll be fine. Oh, Matt says "Hi" by the way. And he's still convinced that we need to come up with a nickname for you, and I keep telling him that not everyone needs or want a nickname, but you know Matt. He wants to have a nickname for ****everyone****. At least I got him to stop calling me "Sammy-Boy." C.O's calling. Gotta go.**

Casey laughed and shook her head at the letter. _Oh, Sam_, she thought to herself. He was nuts sometimes, but not as nuts as his best friend Matt was. And to be perfectly honest, she didn't mind the fact that the boy wanted to give her a nickname and actually thought it was pretty cool, which was something she'd have to tell Sam sometime. And now it was time for her to start responding to his letter. Well, if the postmark was anything to go by, he was still in the same place as last time, so that made things easy. Okay then, she had a plan. It was time to get to work.


	4. Pick Me Up

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life with Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Flashpoint belongs to Media Bell, Pink Sky, Ava Mar, and Mark Ellis. I only own the plot.

Sam trudged up to where he was staying and he flopped onto his bunk. They were **finally** getting some action, and he loved it, but it could be a pain sometimes. It was all go, go, go. He needed a breather every once in a while. Couldn't he just get that for a little bit? His musings were interrupted as he heard footsteps and he looked to see Matt who looked just as tired as he did.

"You look like Hell," he stated.

"Screw you," came the retort.

"You're not really my type, man," his friend responded. The two boys laughed and shook their heads.

"But I get what you mean. It's been crazy lately," Matt stated. Then, "Have you gotten a letter from Casey?"

"No, not yet," Sam replied, his lips curving into a grin at the mention of his pen-pal. She was a good kid and her letters made everything a little bit more bearable. To be perfectly honest, he had been a bit hesitant to answer the girl's letter seeing as how she was so young and he didn't want his Army buddies getting the wrong idea. But they hadn't. In fact, some of them had actually gotten similar letters and were writing to the people who had written them. Matt was about to say something more when a few of their squad mates came traipsing in, each one collapsing on their respective bunks without a single word. Yup. They were all tired.

"I am dead," one of their friends stated.

"Same," Matt and Sam chorused. Their conversation was interrupted when their commanding officer came in, holding various envelopes.

"Mail call boys," he said and then handed them their letters. Sam opened up the letter from Casey and to his surprise, two photos dropped out of the letter. _What's this?_ he wondered, reaching over to pick them up. He then grinned as he noticed that one of the pictures was of her in a dance uniform. She had apparently had a recital recently. His gaze then fell to the other photo which showed the girl holding up a test and he smiled. That was probably the test she had told him about. He then turned his attention to the letter itself.

_ Hey Sam, how are you doing? This week's been crazy. We got a lot of homework and I've just felt really bogged down. Don't get me wrong, I love the challenge, but sometimes it just feels like a lot, you know? But enough about that, as you can see, from the photos, I aced my test and had a dance recital. I had a lot of fun with the recital. There's just nothing like getting up on stage in front of everyone. It's like a whole different world when I'm performing. Do you have anything that gives you the same feeling, or is that what the Army's like for you? I think I may want to be a dancer when I get older, but I'm not sure. I'm fairly good at it and I really enjoy it, so yeah, maybe. Other than that, nothing all that exciting's been going on. I've just basically been concentrating on school. We're going on a fieldtrip soon, so that's going to be pretty cool. Of course, I don't think any of the other girls would agree with me as we're going to a museum, but I think it is and don't really care __**what**__ they think. It's weird, but a lot of the girls have stated that being a pen-pal is hard or uninteresting. I have no idea what they're talking about! I'm having a blast getting to know you. Getting a letter from you telling me all about your day has become the highlight of my day. Stay safe out there. Casey._

Sam grinned. He had needed this after today. Things had been tough and he had been in a bit of a mood, but Casey had managed to make the day better. Like her, he was having a blast writing to her and on days like today, a letter like the one he had just received made everything totally worth it.


	5. Nickname

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television. Flashpoint belongs Mark Ellis, Ava Mar, Pink Sky, and Media Bell. I only own the plot.

It was lunchtime by the time Casey had gotten a minute to look at the letter she had gotten from Sam. She usually had a few minutes in class, but she had fallen a little behind this week, which did **not** sit well with her, so she had used the time to catch up. It had been worth it though as she was back on top of things, which was how she liked it. And now that she had a moment to herself, she could read the letter that she had gotten. _I wonder what's been going on lately_, she thought to herself. She hadn't heard from him in a while, and while she understood that someone serving couldn't always write a letter to some high school kid, she couldn't help but feeling a little worried. For all she knew, something could have happened to him. And if something ever **did** happen to him, she wasn't really sure **what** she'd do. Sam had become a really good friend to her and she'd be devastated if she ever lost him. After making sure her food tray was far enough away from the edge, Casey opened the letter and began reading.

** Hey Casey, sorry you haven't heard from in a while. Things have just been really crazy over here. But don't be worried. I'm alive. If anything ever happened to me, I'd have Matt or someone else contact you. I wouldn't want you to worry about me. Oh, and speaking of Matt, he's ****finally**** come up with a nickname for you: Stage Girl-because you love to dance. I know, I know, it's dorky and I told him that it wasn't necessary, but I he insisted, so now you're Stage Girl. Sorry about that. If you hate it, take it up with him. He also came up with a nickname for ****me****-Flash, because of how quickly I hauled ass from a building we were doing a reccy on a couple of days ago. It had a nice little surprise waiting for the next person who entered it, so yeah, I hauled ass. But don't worry I'm fine, just a little banged up. Hope you're doing well and I hope to hear from you again soon.**

Casey let out a sigh of relief after reading the letter. She was glad that Sam was all right. She had been worried and this letter had alleviated her fears, which she was grateful for. She then reread the part about the nickname and laughed. Stage Girl. She liked it. She **did** love to dance and perform for people, so it really fit. She wasn't really sure how she felt about the fact that Sam had just admitted that he had nearly died, but it wasn't like she could say that she didn't know it was a possibility as he **was** in the Army. She just hoped that it wouldn't happen to him. She then gave herself a mental shake and once more reread the letter, her lips curving into a smile.


	6. Trouble

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television. Flashpoint belongs Mark Ellis, Ava Mar, Pink Sky, and Media Bell. I only own the plot.

Sam blew out a breath as his mind raced with the events that were transpiring. He couldn't believe that he and Matt were in the middle of a battle zone. Well, okay, that wasn't entirely true. He could believe it as he had been in this situation a few times before. It didn't mean that it felt any less surreal. But at least he had something to get him through all the drudgery. And he could readily admit that Casey's letters **had** been getting him through. If it wasn't for the letters that they had been sharing, Sam was sure he would've gone crazy. But instead, he was feeling grounded, even with the fact that he was currently dodging bullets and returning fire. _Oh, man! I really hope I don't get killed_, he thought to himself. Yeah, it was a possibility especially with the way the day was going, but he didn't want to go out today. Hell, he didn't want go out **any** day. A shot rang out and he ducked and quickly returned fire, Matt doing the same right beside him.

"You gonna tell Casey about this?" Matt queried.

"Hell, no! She'd freak," Sam replied. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. Then there was another barrage of bullets and the two ducked. "Matt, I think we could use an extraction here, man," he said. With that, Matt activated his radio and quickly spoke into it, giving their location and their situation, and he was told that the rest of the unit would be their soon.

"All right. We're going to be okay," Matt muttered. He and Sam were getting out of here. Sam and Matt weren't sure how much longer they were there, but they soon heard more firing from weapons similar to theirs and they were relieved to see their squad mates coming at them even as the other side kept firing.

"Braddock, Chambers, you all right?" their commanding officer asked.

"Better now," came the response.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," the older man stated.

"Sounds good to me," the two chorused. Then, they continued firing and ran towards the jeep that had come for them, and drove off.

"You two need to get checked out?" the commanding officer asked.

"Yes," Matt replied before Sam could say anything.

"All right. I'll notify the doc," the man stated. "Oh, by the way, mail for you, Braddock," he said, handing him an envelope. Sam opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

_ Hey Sam, I know I didn't say it in my last letter, but thanks for letting me know why I hadn't heard from you. I have to admit, I __was__ pretty worried, so it's good to know that you're safe. I've been looking forward to your letters even more these days. My parents have been fighting and even though they try to pretend that everything's fine, but Lizzie and I can tell something's up. I've been assuring Lizzie that everything's going to be okay, but I'm not really sure. They started fighting a few weeks ago and I just don't know what to do. What am I supposed to do? I don't mean to burden you with all of this, but I just-I'm not sure what to do. I've heard them argue before, but it's never been like this. Dad's been working so many hours and he doesn't have time for us anymore. Mom just wants him to come home more often…and so do I. Is that so much to ask? I don't know why he's started working so much and I just don't know what to tell Lizzie. Well, gotta go. Again, sorry for burdening you with all of this. Casey._

_Oh, kiddo_, Sam thought to himself. He couldn't even imagine what she must've been going through. Yeah, there had been times that Dad had worked longer tours and hours than he usually did, but that was usually when he was trying to bury pain, such as after Vickie died. He then blew out a breath and tried to think of what he could say to her in his next letter. It sounded like she could use some advice and he was going to make sure that he gave some that was good.


	7. Encouragement

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television. Flashpoint belongs Mark Ellis, Ava Mar, Pink Sky, and Media Bell. I only own the plot.

Casey trudged into her room and flopped onto her bed. She had gotten a letter from Sam this morning in class and instead of reading it at school, she had opted to wait until she was home. She had a feeling that she was going to need it. She hadn't told the older man yet but her parents fights had gotten worse in the last couple of weeks. In fact, it seemed like they were fighting even more now. Dad was spending more time at the office and Mom was tired of him throwing himself into his work. Granted, Casey was in complete agreement with her mother, but it didn't mean that she wanted to hear them shouting at each other. Especially when Lizzie was in the house. She was **much** too young to have to worry about this kind of stuff. But what could she do? It wasn't like she could make them stop fighting or anything. The girl let out a sigh and then opened the letter as she made herself comfortable on her bed.

**Hey Casey. Man, I'm sorry you and your sister are having a rough time. It sucks when parents fight. I'm sure everything will work out, so just hang in there. Matt and I are doing okay, just as busy as ever. And yes, we're staying as safe as we can. We wouldn't want our Stage Girl to worry. Oh, Matt wanted me to tell you about the prank we played on one of our fellow officers. He claims that this will improve your mood. Anyways, the guy was bragging about he could withstand any kind of food no matter how hot it was, so Matt decided to test it out. He got something that's like the Afghanistan version of hot sauce and put it on the guy's ration. Dude nearly jumped out of his seat after the first bite. After that, he didn't brag about his food tolerance. So other than your parents fighting, how have you been? Anything new and exciting going on? How's your dancing going? Have you had any new recitals? Man, I'm so out of touch! It's almost enough to make me want to leave the Army. Almost, but not quite. For one thing, my dad would probably kill me. He's an Army man through and through. Remind me to tell you some of the things we did growing up sometime. I'm sure you'd get a kick out of those stories. Things are going as well as you can expect them to go. Let me tell you, if you ever want life experience, just join the Army. You'll get all the life experience you'll ever want or need. Listen to me, I make it sound like I hate what I'm doing when that couldn't be any further from the truth. I love it. I'm making a difference, you know? I'm just glad that I'm doing this with a group of guys who have become my best friends. I've heard horror stories about squads that can barely tolerate each other and I can't even imagine being in a group like that. I'll write you soon. And again, just hang in there.**

Casey smiled as she finished reading the letter. This was why she had started waiting until the end of the day to read Sam's letters. She was always in a good mood until her parents started fighting and they were **always** fighting these days. Well, at least she had someone she could talk to when everything got to be too much. And that meant more to her than he would **ever** know…


	8. Birthday Wishes

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Flashpoint belongs to Mark Ellis, Media Bell, Pink Sky, and Ava Mar.

Sam winced as Matt wrapped the gauze around the wound.

"That's too tight," he complained.

"Baby," Matt accused.

"Sadist," Sam shot back and his friend chuckled.

"Some way to spend your birthday, huh, man?" his friend asked.

"I could think of better ways," came the response and Matt laughed again.

"You know, it's too bad this won't scar. Chicks dig 'em," he stated and his friend shook his head.

"Not really what I'm worrying about right now," he told him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," the other man stated. When Matt was finished dressing the wound, Sam carefully moved his arm. _Okay, good. Still mobile_, he thought to himself. Yeah, they had done a check before taking care of the wound, but he was paranoid. Almost as if he knew what his friend was thinking Matt grinned. "Just be glad it wasn't your shooting arm," he said.

"I **am**. Believe me, I am," Sam responded. If his shooting arm had been injured, he would've been screwed. As it was, he was lucky enough with the location of the bullet. An inch either way and he would've been a one-armed man. And call him vain or whatever, but he hadn't been in the mood to go through life with just one arm. Sam was about to say more when another member of their squad came up with a couple of packages in his hands.

"Do…we need a bomb squad?" Matt asked, only half-joking. Hey, you couldn't blame him being cautious given their circumstances.

"All checked out. Nothing suspicious," the man replied. "It's just something from your pen-pal and your folks," he said, giving the packages to Sam.

"Thanks, man," Sam responded as he took the packages. Then, he carefully opened the first one and was surprised to find a small figure on a chain.

"Why'd she send you Saint George? You're not Catholic," Matt commented.

"Well, neither are you, but you recognized it," Sam pointed out.

"Touché," Matt said with a chuckle. Sam then rolled his eyes and pulled the letter out and made himself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as he could in his surroundings.

_ Hey Sam. Happy birthday! I know you're probably not expecting me to remember but I did. And I know you're not Catholic, so you're probably confused as to why I sent you Saint George. I was doing some research and learned that he was the Patron saint of soldiers and it's believed that he's their protector. And if anyone deserves a protector, it's __**you**__. It's just my way of saying that I'm thinking of you and thank you for your service. Please continue to be safe. Casey._

After he finished reading the letter, Sam smiled. To be honest, he had needed that. And okay, the letter was short, but at least he had gotten something from her. And he was glad to get a gift from her as he hadn't been expecting one. Not because he didn't think she'd remember as she surmised, but because it hadn't occurred to him that she'd feel that comfortable with him to do something like that. But he was glad that she **did** feel comfortable enough to send him something. Still smiling, he took the chain, unfastened it, and then placed it around his neck, refastening the clasp. Sure he wasn't very religious and he wasn't sure if there was a higher power looking after him, but Casey had cared enough to send it to him, and hey, everyone could use a protector, right? So yeah, he'd wear it with pride.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2

For the record, I'm not Catholic and no offense was intended by Casey giving Sam a Saint George necklace when neither one of them are Catholic.


	9. Reassurance

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Flashpoint belongs to Mark Ellis, Media Bell, Pink Sky, and Ava Mar. I only own the plot.

As her parents continued to argue, Casey shut the door and then looked at Lizzie who was trying not to cry. Without a word, Casey opened her arms and Lizzie ran to her, sniffling. The older girl stroked her sister's hair and made soft shushing noises. _Man, can't they see what this is doing to her?_ she wondered. Lizzie buried her face into Casey's shoulder and finally let herself cry. She couldn't believe this was happening. Why were Mom and Dad fighting so much? Didn't they care about each other anymore? And if not, why not? What had gone wrong? They had been so in love before. As Lizzie continued to cry, Casey sat down on her bed, saying soft, soothing words. As she did so, she caught sight of an opened envelope. Sam. She **still** hadn't read the letter he had sent her.

"Hey, you wanna hear what Sam has to say?" she asked. Lizzie just shrugged and Casey decided to take that as a "Yes". She then released her hold on her sister, walked to the bed, picked up the envelope, and opened it to reveal a letter. She sat on the bed, the younger girl, sitting beside her as she unfolded the letter.

**Hey Casey. Things are kind of crazy over here lately and Matt and I have barely gotten a chance to catch our breaths. And isn't that always the way? We spent so much time complaining that we were bored when we first started and now we're wishing that we could go back to that. It's too bad that no one's invented a time machine so that we ****could**** go back when we wanted to, but hey, maybe someday, right? I'm sorry that your parents' fighting has gotten worse. I can't even imagine what that must be like. I mean, yeah, my parents fight sometimes, but nothing like what you're describing. It must be Hell. Well, just know that Matt and I are here for you if you and Lizzie ever want to talk. I'm not really sure if we could give you any advice, but if you ever need an ear, we're here. So, did I tell you about the newest member of our squad? Her name's Megan Oxford and she's a firecracker. You'd love her. Some of the guys are saying that she won't last very long and are placing bets on how long it'll be before she crashes and burns, but not me and Matt. No, we're taking bets on how long it'll be before she kicks all their asses. She's a pretty tough cookie and I can't wait to see her prove these guys wrong. Whoa. Gotta go. Talk to you later, and again, you and Lizzie can always talk to me and Matt. Sam.**

After she was finished, she looked to Lizzie who had just snuggled up to her as she had read the letter.

"Feel better?" the older girl asked and her sister nodded. "Good," she told her. Yeah, it had been **exactly** what they had needed. Sam had done a pretty good job at taking her mind off of what was going on at home while also assuring her that he'd be there for them if they needed him. It didn't surprise Casey that Sam had included Lizzie in the letter as she had told him how the fights had been affecting the younger girl. She then bit her lip and glanced at the letter again. There were times when she didn't know **what** she was going to do and she was **definitely** grateful to Sam for being there. With him in her corner, she had a feeling that she could handle anything.


	10. Venting

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Flashpoint belongs to Mark Ellis, Media Bell, Pink Sky, and Ava Mar. I only own the plot.

Sam blew out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair as he lay down on his cot. For once, they had a chance to breathe. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that they had been assigned to a new place sometime ago. While he mostly didn't mind this as he understood it was just part of the Army life, but a small part of him was worried that he had missed a letter-or even letters-from Casey, which was entirely possible given the fact that he had just been reassigned. But he was hoping that there was some way to reach her. He liked corresponding with her and he **really** didn't want it to end, which was why he had sent her a new letter from his new address as quickly as possible, though he wasn't sure that there was any guarantee that their postal service-what there was of it-had gotten it out. Oh well. He was sure to find out sooner or later whether or not his letter had reached her. Hearing footsteps approach, he quickly sat up, reaching for the gun that was by his bed.

"Easy, Braddock. Just bringing the mail," a male voice stated.

"Well…" he said, his voice trailing off as an older officer walked in.

"I get it," the other man said. He then handed the boy a few pieces of mail and then walked out. Sam then made himself as comfortable as he could on the cot and opened the first letter.

_Hey Sam, I really hope this gets to you, though I'm not sure it will. For all I know this address is old now. Well, if it gets to you, yay. Okay, so I guess you're wondering what's going on in my life. Well, Mom and Dad have decided to get a divorce. It sucks, but if it'll stop them from fighting, I'm all for it. I just want things to be okay again, you know? Or…as okay as they can get when your parents are at each other's throats all the_ time. _Have you ever felt that way? Have you just wanted to scream and scream until no sound came out? I would __love__ to, but I have to stay strong for Lizzie_. _ I just wish I knew what to do, you know? And I don't even know if there __is__ anything I can do! I just want this all to stop! And theoretically, the divorce would do that, but I also want my parents together. Is that so much to ask? What do you think I should do? Sorry for whining so much. I just had to get it out. I'll talk to you later, Casey._

Sam winced internally as he finished reading the letter. That sounded really bad. If he was reading this right, Casey was barely hanging on. Well, he wasn't going to just leave her hanging like this. It wasn't his way. She could use a friend right now and he was going to provide her with one. With that, he rummaged around his things until he found a pen and a piece of paper. Then, he started writing.


End file.
